Your new MPs – also PR consultants


by Newswire    
September 25, 2009 at 6:06 am

A Conservative parliamentary candidate felt so uneasy about helping to give a company access to a member of the Shadow Cabinet that she is giving her four-figure fee to charity.

Margot James, the Conservative candidate for Stourbridge and a party vice-chairman, set up the meeting in her role as a freelance public relations consultant. But Ms James said that she would be donating her fee to a charity in the constituency.

Still more say that they have been asked to provide advice on the direction of the party. A few admit to having pressed the case of commercial interests among Shadow ministers. Other than Ms James, none felt that they had done anything wrong. Priti Patel, the Conservative candidate for Witham and formerly a senior aide to William Hague, has returned to the firm of Weber Shandwick, whose clients include Barclays, since being selected in November 2006.

“I don’t do lobbying,” she said. “However, that does not mean I won’t phone up a Member of Parliament and say this client or that has an issue and would you be willing to speak with them? I will also give my clients a particular insight into the party.”

…more at The Times


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“I don’t do lobbying,” she said. “However, that does not mean I won’t phone up a Member of Parliament and say this client or that has an issue and would you be willing to speak with them? I will also give my clients a particular insight into the party.”

That is an outrageous bout of doublespeak. She’s also the one with disgustingly right wing views isn’t she, who wants to bring back hanging.

We should be hanging Tory PPCs.

Can somebody please explain to me in words of one syllable just what the problem is?

I don’t see it.

(Unless, as Mr. Mendes graphically demonstrates, it’s simply that they are Tories.)

Unfortunately the Tories aren’t alone in these sleazy practices.

Ex-government ministers seem to find employment in companies within their ex-purview pretty damn quick.

Blunkett, Hewitt, Hutton and a whole lot more are guilty.

Um, one man one vote? A not fair… influence. Three syllables okay?

It seems that those with contacts can have mre influence over politicing than the elctorate and this is a Bad Thing. For deomcracy, for governance and for everyones well being.

(And yes they’re tories… but New Labour are just about as bad)

“She’s also the one with disgustingly right wing views isn’t she, who wants to bring back hanging.”

By that measure most people in this country have “disgustingly right-wing views”. This sort of faux outrage self-righteousness simply plays up to right-wing caricatures of “out of touch metropolitan liberals” etc.

Oh please don’t let us become let America, riddled with special interests that start to massive impinge upon policy making and have a whole raft of politicians in their back pockets.

What is the difference between the influence union sponsored politicians have on policy and the Tories candidates from a PR background?


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Article:: Your new MPs – also PR consultants http://bit.ly/J4reo

  2. Adam Bienkov

    “I don’t do lobbying,” she said. “However, that does not mean I won’t phone up a Member of Parliament" http://bit.ly/J4reo

  3. Quietzapple

    @AdamBienkov Re http://bit.ly/J4reo What a hoot! Cut £££pay and they’ll do it more

  4. Liberal Conspiracy

    Article:: Your new MPs – also PR consultants http://bit.ly/J4reo

  5. Adam Bienkov

    “I don’t do lobbying,” she said. “However, that does not mean I won’t phone up a Member of Parliament" http://bit.ly/J4reo





Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

 
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